Many information resources from the federal government are now available online. Given that fact, do libraries still need to collect government documents in physical formats? Why? If you aren't a Federal Depository Library (FDL), how do you find out what resources are available? How do you direct your patrons to them? Who's going to preserve all this electronic information so people can access it in the future?

Lori Smith is the Government Documents Department Head at Southeastern Louisiana University's Sims Memorial Library, and the 2012-2013 Coordinator of the Federal Documents Task Force of ALA's Government Documents Round Table. Smith has worked with federal and state publications since 1987. She conceived, edited, and co-authored the 2003 book Tapping State Government Information Sources, and contributed a chapter to the 2008 book Managing Electronic Government Information in Libraries: Issues and Practices.

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